At a Glance

All mammals have been blessed with a body part which makes them distinguished from the other living organisms. What is this part? Obviously! its nothing other than Brain.

So, Let us discover more about this special part of body.

What is brain?

Brain is the body part which holds your command. Each action and reaction arises from the command of this part. The potential of the brain is still a mystery.

To be defined, it is an organ enclosed in the skull of vertebrates and many invertebrates. It is made up of soft nervous tissue and is the main coordination centre for all the activities going on. As an exception, as above mentioned, only a few invertebrates are devoid of this body part.

Located in the head, it is the main organ responsible to control senses such as taste, vision, hearing, balance and smell.

Human brain

As it is clearly observed, humans possess some distinct intellectual and emotional ability, which is not found in other mammals. This can be taken as an evidence for stating that human brain is the most complex brain.

It is safely situated under the skull and is the main organ of the Central Nervous System. It has various parts which undertake a bunch of tasks and thus control us!

Brain anatomy

The human brain has a complex anatomy. Several regions and parts combine together to make the processes go easy. Each part has its own characteristic function.

The brain is divided into two halves with a suture, which divides it into left hemisphere and right hemisphere. This is the cortical region division. The left brain is called the digital mind as it does all the calculative and logical work. Whereas, the right brain is called the analog brain as it controls senses and creativity.

The internal structure of the brain is even complex, with cortical layers and neural connections.

Anatomy is always a tough rock!

Brain structure

The structure of the brain demands the information of the size, shape and texture along with whole 3D framework explanation. Here, we shall be telling you everything as per best standards!

Size: According to an old myth, it is believed that the larger brains are the smartest and the smaller brains are the dull ones. This fact completely does not hold any truth. The size of the brain has always raised an eyebrow. The animals such as whales and elephants have brains larger in size and animals such as mouse and crows have smaller brains. But, please note that, size of the mind is evaluated with reference to body weight.

Same applies to human brain sizes, and according to this, Men tend to have bigger brains that the women. Why? Because, men have 100g in addition to the normal weight- 1200g, when referred according to the total body weight. Does this mean that men are smarter than women? No! Neuroscience explains it all. Let us not go deep into this topic, as the size itself is the most debated issue!

Shape: The human brain looks exactly like a walnut. Wrinkled surface and the greyish dull skin colour make it look a little ugly. The reason of the wrinkled and the coiled surface is the cortex and its surface structure. The more wrinkled a brain gets, the bigger the surface of the cortex becomes and vice versa. You would be surprised to know that if you look at the human brain, you only see 1/3rd of the surface. The other 2/3rd is hidden in the folds. If you spread it out, then it would almost be like a small table cloth. How amazing!

Also, it is interesting to know that the wrinkles on the surface of the brain are uneven. It is because the region that works harder possesses more wrinkles (after-all the wrinkles account to the increase in number of nerve cells!). Hence, the frontal region of the human brain is more wrinkled!

Texture: The brain when touched is very delicate! It is so soft and wobbly, that at first you may even have a weird feeling inside. Maybe some goose-bumps! It may also feel like as if it has a bulk fluid inside.

Brain functions

The function of the brain is to exert centralized control and to coordinate all the body parts with each other. Muscle activity, motor movement, hormone secretion and the functions keep on increasing! How hard our brain works, no?

Each function is a characteristic of its brain part. We shall be discussing the parts later on, but for now, let us summarise upon the functions of the brain.

It makes decisions and sets up a communication between the body parts.

Every daily motion, whether breathing or blinking, is controlled by brain.

It helps in keeping memory and stores all the information.

It creates thought and processes the perception.

It gives the command and thus helps in the execution of any action.

It reasons statements and questions the facts.

It orients your speech and command over language. It also links speech to thought process.

The motor movements and the muscle coordination is the primary job.

Emotions and intellectual ability is also accountable to brain.

Visuals and their processing is another function.

The ability to listen, taste and smell is controlled by brain.

The production of hormones and their utilisation is done.

The most important life functions which make thee metabolism within us such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure etc. are controlled by brain.

The rhythm of the body is in the governance of brain

And the list goes on, as we ourselves know the variety of activities we do. Whether simple ones or the tough ones, an action or a reaction, our brain controls everything!

Brain mapping

You must know about maps and what are they used for. Maps are used for navigation, and brain mapping is similar. Brain mapping is a set of techniques used to show parts of the brain and how they coordinate with each other to work. The potential of the brain to the complete extent is yet to be discovered. The scientists are still not able to reason the random neural signal transfers.

Brain mapping helps in the better understanding of the internal structure of the brain. We know a little, and there is a long way to go to understand this small piece of mass. Also, it is essential to learn the processes undergoing inside. How the messages are created and how are they transferred with the magnificent speed, such questions need an exact answer.

For the medical world, brain mapping also acts as a tool to study the injuries and other issues which may cause brain disorders.

The question arises now, that how the brain mapping is done? The scientists are able to localise the function, i.e. which area causes what kind of action. This is done by having the “subject” and using a set of techniques.

These techniques may be:

Electroencephalograph (EEG):

This makes the use of electrodes placed at the scalp, and then electrical patterns are observed and recorded.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET):

It involves the use of a radioactive substance which can be absorbed by the brain cells.

Computer Axial Tomography (CAT):

It makes the use of X-rays which penetrate and bring out the detailed information of brain from different angles and points.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI):

Magnetic field and radio energy is used to give details of brain!

Parts of brain

The brain has three main parts:

Cerebrum

Cerebellum

Brain stem

The largest and the most important part is the cerebrum, which is also called the cortex, and due to its advance characteristics, it is also called neo-cortex.

The cerebrum is divided into four lobes or four regions, each having its own specific function. They are:

Frontal lobe

Parietal lobe

Occipital lobe

Temporal lobe

The functions of these lobes are given as follows:

FRONTAL LOBE

PARIETAL LOBE

OCCIPITAL LOBE

TEMPORAL LOBE

Behaviour

Sense of touch

Vision

Memory

Problem solving ability

Stereo gnosis

reading

Hearing ability

Attention

Response to stimulus

Visual memories

Creative thinking

Combination of senses

Music

Emotion and intellect power

Language and orientation

Fear

Reflection

Visual functions

Other Language

Judgement

Speech orientation

Coordination

Behaviour

Eye movements

Emotions

Muscle movements

Sense of identity

Smell sense

Motor movements

Skills

The cerebrum, as we discussed before, is the wrinkled surface which covers the major portion. It is wrinkled due to the layers and folds. The folds increase the surface area for the accommodation of more and more neurons. The grey matter is beneath these layers along with the white matter.

Beneath the cerebrum is the cerebellum. It keeps a watch on alignment and body posture.

The brain stem is the third part, which has subparts – Pons, medulla and the midbrain.

Brain parts and functions

We have already mentioned about the major brain parts and their functions. Let us put some light on the other parts and their functions as well.

Hypothalamus:

Motivational aspect

Mood swings

Maturity of the body and sex organs

Regulation of the body temperature

Hormonal processes inside the body

Optic Chiasm:

Vision

Optic nerves and their coordination

Pituitary gland

Secretion of hormones

Maturation of the body

Growth in terms of height and form

Sexual maturation

Spinal cord is the platform for sensation and movement.

Pineal body, Ventricles and the cerebral aqueduct are some brain parts, out of which the latter two contain cerebrospinal fluid that bathes brain and spinal cord.

Brain system

The whole brain and its parts work together to make a system, which is easily inferred as the brain system.

Is your brain a muscle?

It was strongly believed that the brain is a muscle, as it is considered as a tissue. The function and the structure were co-related to brain being a muscle. But, it is now stated that it is not a muscle. The neurons which work as the units that carry the electrical and chemical signals fire up the muscle movement. Hence, it is the signal sent by neuron, not the brain itself which causes such movement.

Therefore, the brain itself is not a muscle. However, like the muscles can be toned, the brain power can be increased. There is a factor called “plasticity”, which governs the range of brain power improvement. People exercise and train themselves in order to improve upon their brain strength, just like they exercise and train their other muscles.

Is brain an organ?

Yes, the brain is an organ! And in fact, it is the fattest organ in our body. Sounds weird? But it is true!

It itself is an organ system! It maintains coordination among its parts and delivers the most special service to us. It is made up of tissues, cells and is said to have gray matter aligned with the white matter.

What does your brain do?

Brain has numerous parts and these parts combine together to perform a set of functions. Each part has its own function and it does it efficiently! We have already mentioned some functions before, and you may explore more by yourself as knowledge is never confined to one stop!

Human brain power

The power of the human brain is beyond imagination. Humans are the supreme creations with the hidden potentials. A mine of talents as gems!

Do you know the power of internet in this present era? It is vast! And just imagine, the invention of internet and computer was done by humans only. The human potential is immeasurable. It crosses all barriers of consciousness. Everybody owns a brilliant brain which can do wonders if at its best! It is a reservoir of vital power.

The human brain power amazes us time to time when we discover some unusual talents on globe. Have you heard about supernatural humans? They exist! And, they are supernatural because of their brain power! Do you have some magic in you?

Brain web

Brain web is a tool which acts as a database for providing realistic data MRI data volumes. These are produced by an MRI simulator. It solves the validation problem in form of Simulated Brain Database and thus can be used by neuroscientists.

The code language and terms might be a little confusing, but the statistics are accurate and reasonable. This tool has been proved beneficial for the research studies.

Brain parts diagram

Brain facts

The brain facts and the knowledge about it always fill us with a sense of awe! Here are some quick facts on tips!

The major portion of the brain is water. And, if you suffer from even 2% dehydration, then you are going to get affected regarding your mental powers.

If you are exercising as hard as for two hours, the continuous sweating may shrink the brain as if it is another year old!

The brain is the fattiest organ of the body.

About 86 billion neurons exist in our brain.

The brain cells are not all same. About 10,000 varieties are observed.

Human brain reaches full maturity at the age of 25. Are you mature?

The electric signals passing through the neurons, if summed up, produce about 12-25 watts of energy!

We have more negative thoughts in our mind as compared to the positive ones. How pessimistic we are!

About a Lac chemical reactions take place in our body!

Men have bigger brains than women, but the fact is they are not smarter!